Vimalnath Foundation

In Delhi’s Ashok Vihar neighborhood, the Mahavir Jain Temple, carved out of white marble, brings together pilgrims and the local community alike, preaching the key tenet of Jainism—the art of giving: irrespective of caste or status, a human should always be treated as a human.

In conjunction with the temple, the Vimalnath Jain Foundation serves hundreds of poor people each day by providing food and shelter in the temple’s large guest house. The Foundation was initiated by Viren Jain, the now-17-year-old grandson of the temple’s original benefactor: Mr. Vimalnath Jain. Viren has continued his family’s philanthropic journey with a dedication and zeal to help the unfortunate in society, and the foundation has been serving the underprivileged with donations and support from temple patrons.

In addition to ensuring the foundation provides food and shelter for those that require it, Viren has organized basic education provision and vocational education for both children and adults in the ground floor of the temple’s guest house. While members of the Jain family conducted the classes initially, volunteer teachers now come in daily to teach English, Math and Hindi over 80 students, seven days a week.

The foundation also uses donations from the temple to assist several local charities in Ashok Vihar and the neighboring areas of Delhi. In recent years, the foundation has also branched out into providing housing and education grants, free healthcare and sponsorship for medical procedures and it has also constructed animal care shelters and veterinary clinics for abandoned and injured animals.

While temple donations and assistance from the local community has so far been enough to help the foundation in its efforts, the foundation now needs more funding to extend a helping hand in more people and continue to support the community around it. To meet this challenge, the Vimalnath Jain Foundation has begun a Facebook and Video fundraising campaign to find caring supporters and donors from across India who believe in its mission and the good it can do.

Vasudhaive Kutumbakam, the world is one family. What greater joy can there be than making a person smile? Youngsters like Viren have set a benchmark for people, making us realize that the world is too small to neglect any poor being. So, let’s lend a helping hand ourselves and donate today.